PocketGamer.biz News: 96% of iOS Revenue is from 6-Month Old Top Earners (March 17, 2014)

By Keith Andrew | March 17, 2014

From GDC 2014…

“Developers often think that if they make the next Titanfall or Call of Dutystyle shooter on mobile or tablets, it’s going to ‘blow the market wide open’,” offered Scott Rigby of Immersyve during the firm’s talk at GDC 2014 in San Francisco.

“That’s what we call the wrong way of thinking. Games like that don’t fit in with the opportunities mobile presents.”

According to engagement specialist Immersyve, breaking into the mobile market is harder than even the most pessimistic of developers think. But one of the main reasons it’s so hard is because scores of developers aren’t thinking about why and how people play mobile games in the first place.

“I very much doubt any of you in this room are playing Titanfall right now – well, I’d be very impressive if anyone was. Aside from the fact that it’s not possible on a technical level, if any of you were playing that, I’d notice,” he continued.

“Hard as it is for me to admit, however, chances are there are people in this room right now who are playing a mobile game. You can play a mobile games in 10 seconds  bam. Chances are, I wouldn’t notice.”

The console question

Immersyve’s main message, therefore, is that developers need to stop trying to take on console with mobile  it’s not that console games aren’t technically possible on high end mobile handsets. Rather, they simply don’t fit in with the way people want to use those devices.

“People will say to me, “well, that’s just because no-one has executed a good console game on mobile yet,” added Rigby.